Journal of Robotics
Volume 2013, Article ID 810909, 10 pages
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/810909
Motion Path Design for Specific Muscle Training Using Neural Network
Toyohashi University of Technology, Hibarigaoka 1-1, Tempaku-cho, Toyohashi, Aichi 441-8580, Japan
Received 19 July 2013; Accepted 27 September 2013
Academic Editor: Shigeyuki Suzuki
Copyright © 2013 Kenta Itokazu et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
Specific muscle training is expected to be used for efficient rehabilitation and care prevention. In this paper, we propose algorithms for designing a motion path capable of strengthening specific muscles. By using the proposed algorithms, it is possible to design a motion path maximizing the activity of an agonist muscle and minimizing that of other muscles. For training, the load is applied by using a 2-link arm. EMG signal is measured during a training experiment, and the degree of muscular revitalization is evaluated by the amplitude of EMG signal. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed approach is demonstrated through experiments.